Glenys Anne Syred (As Administratrix of the Estate of Gary Vernon Syred) v BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd

The case of Glenys Anne Syred (As Administratrix of the Estate of Gary Vernon Syred) v BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd [2004] WASC 87 involved a claim for damages brought by the plaintiff, as the administratrix of the estate of her late husband, against the defendant employer. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant had breached duties of care owed to the deceased employee in relation to providing advice concerning superannuation death cover and in failing to give timely notice to the superannuation fund of the employee's cessation of employment. The court was required to determine whether such duties existed and, if so, whether they were breached and if any loss resulted from the alleged breaches. The court found that no duty of care was owed by the defendant in either respect. In relation to the alleged duty to provide advice concerning superannuation death cover, the court held that the information provided to the deceased employee was not misleading and did not constitute a breach of any duty. Regarding the duty to provide timely information to the superannuation fund, the court concluded that the deceased employee was not vulnerable in the sense that he could not protect himself from the consequences of any delay in notification, as he had the ability to make inquiries and obtain information from the fund administrator. The court also found that even if the defendant had breached any alleged duties, it was not probable that the deceased employee would have taken steps to obtain the continuation insurance before his death, making any loss caused by the alleged breaches unforeseeable. Consequently, the claim was dismissed.